Saving Captain Ruby
by Torafire
Summary: After RWBY prevents Torchwick from...acquiring... a shipment of dust at the port, Roman comes up with a plan to get even... but what happens may not be exactly what he expected...
1. Chapter 1

It was not a happy day in Roman Torchwicks secret base.

Mostly for the White Fang.

Torchiwick was pissed, and understandably so. It seems like everywhere he stole, the _Brat_ from the dust shop was there to stop him.

He was so sick of that girl!

And he didn't actually know who she was. That pissed him off even more. Red was what he called her. Her with her black dress with red trim and scythe.

Who even wore a _dress_ while fighting?! (**and how did he know it was red trim?**).

An unlucky faunus with dog ears passed in front of Roman. "Hey, Fido!" Roman barked. (**I love irony ^-^**) The faunus jumped to attention at the demeaning name. "Find everything you can on the kids from the port. The Cat, Monkey, Robot, and, especially, Red. I want their family, friends, school, everything! Got it?"

"I-I don't know how…" The faunus stuttered.

Roman sighed. He was sick of dealing with the White Fang, too. "Then get me someone who can!"

Watching the Faunus run off, Roman gripped his walking cane tightly and narrowed his green eyes.

Oh, he would find Red.

And she would regret ever meeting him.


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby Rose sneezed loudly.

"That's the third time in the last five minutes." Yang commented, looking up at her little sister who was sitting in one of the academy's large oaks. The group had finished their morning classes and decided to get a little sunshine on the lawn before their afternoon classes.

"This is from you always staying up so late!" Pale Weiss chided. "You're catching a cold."

"No, I'm not." Ruby said stubbornly. "I'm fine."

Blake didn't even look up from her book. "Maybe someone's thinking about you."

"hehe." Yang giggled. "Bet it's Jaune."

Ruby jumped down and rolled her silver eyes at her sister. "Oh, stop it, Yang."

"It could happen." Yang said.

"What could happen?" The group looked over to see Jaune walking towards them with Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora.

"Hey guys!" Nora greeted in her loud, happy voice. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing!" Ruby said hurriedly before Yang could allude to anything romantic. "Just talking!"

Pyrrha smiled. "Alright. Oh, I wanted to ask, did any of you finish Professor Ooblecks essay on the founders of Beacon?"

Blake shook her head. "Not yet. It's not due till Tuesday, right?"

"Yes, but I wanted to get a head start on it."

Ruby frowned as Jaune asked, "We have a report due?"

Wiess rolled her eyes. "Of course, don't you remember-"

A loud crash interrupted her and both team RWBY and team JNPR looked around in surprise. "That sounded like it came from over there." Lie Ren quickly said.

The two groups swiftly made their way to where shards of glass littered the pavement in front of Beacon. Goodwitch and Ozpin were already on the scene.

Ruby approached them. "What happened?"

Goodwitch answered. "Someone broke into the school."

"Why would someone break into a school?" Yang asked.

"I know!" Jaune exclaimed. "I'm usually trying to break out."

Ozpin gave the group a steady look. "They took video files from the Emerald Forest initiation and appear to have copied the student files as well."

"Student files?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, we have files on every student who is currently attending school here at Beacon, including the eight of you."

"Why would they take those? And who would do that?" Pyrrha asked.

Ozpin looked off into the distance. "I don't know."

Somehow, Ruby didn't think he wasn't telling the whole truth. He probably knew who did it, but why they would take those files was another question entirely.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sir."

Roman looked up from his map of Vale to see a Faunus standing next to him, files in hand. "What?"

"I have those files you asked for. About the Port incident?"

Romans attention was captured. He tapped his cigar on the table. "Put them here." The faunus did as told and Roman flipped open the first file. It was Monkey boy.

+Sun Wukong

+Male

+Faunus

+weapon of choice: Gunchaku

+Occupation: Thief

There was a photo of Sun that Roman took out an attached to a board. One down.

Next file was on the robot girl. It was a short file, with only a photo from the port. Roman gritted his teeth as he pinned it. That would increase his search substantially. Kitty was next on the list.

+Blake Belladonna

+Female

+Age: 17

+Faunus (Former Member of the White Fang)

+Relatives: Unknown

+Weapon of Choice: Gambol Shroud

+Semblance: Shadow Clones

+Occupation: Student at Beacon

So she was being trained to be a huntress. That was interesting.

+Partner: Yang Xiao Long

+Team: RWBY

Roman took her photo and looked at it. She was very pretty, He decided, despite being a Faunus. There was a CD in the file, presumably from that stupid initiation Ozpin had everyone go through. There were more pictures, but there was one last file to look at first. The one that he had wanted the most.

As he opened it, he was greeted with the cute, cheerful face of Red.

+ Ruby Rose

So that was her name. Ruby. Ruby Rose. He hadn't been that far off in calling her 'Red' then.

+Female

+Age: 15

Not as much a kid as he had expected, but still fairly young. But only five years younger than himself.

+Relatives: Yang Xiao Long

There was that name again.

+Weapon of Choice: Crescent Rose

+Semblance: Speed

The next parts made Roman almost swallow his cigar.

+Occupation: Student at Beacon (Youngest admitted)

+Partner: Weiss Schnee

+Team: Leader of Team RWBY

Sure enough, there was a picture with Ruby, a pale girl he assumed was The Schnee Heiress, Blake, and a Blonde he guessed was Yang Xiao Long.

Red was a team leader? At Beacon? Who _made_ these decisions?

He looked at more photos that were in the file. Red was laughing with her teammates, sleeping in class and talking to a blonde boy. For some reason, he didn't like her talking to him.

Now that he thought of it, Junior had sent Roman a photo of the girl who had wrecked the club. Yang Xiao Long looked an awful lot like her. So in one group, there was the girl Junior would pay thousands to have, the Schnee Heiress, Ruby, and Blake….

He set the photos aside to watch the video of their initiation. He didn't want to admit it, but she was good. Her team worked well together and she came up with a very good plan to kill the Nevermore. He smiled darkly. She was good, but she wasn't as good as him.

He pinned her photo up and breathed a long string of smoke at it. "See you real soon, Ruby…"


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby was sitting with Jaune and the gang at lunch when she got a call slip to go see Professor Ozpin.

"What did you do?" Weiss asked accusingly.

"I didn't do anything." Ruby told her. "He probably just wants to talk. Hope it's not about my grades…"

"But you're doing really well in class!" Jaune said.

"but I have been sleeping in Professor Ports class."

"True." Blake said.

"No sense worrying about it!" Yang said enthusiastically. "Just go see him."

Just then, another student aid came up with call slips for the rest of RWBY. The gang all looked at one another. "That's very strange," Pyrrha said. "I wonder what this is about."

Ren stood up. "We'll walk you to his office." He said.

Nora bounced out of her seat. "Yeah! Let's go!"

The two groups found themselves outside Ozpins office standing awkwardly. "Do we knock?" Jaune asked after a moment.

Ruby took a breath and knocked lightly on the oak door. "Come in."

As RWBY entered, Weiss, ever the polite one, asked, "You wanted to see us, sir?"

Ozpin was standing at his office window, and didn't turn around. "Yes, Ms Schnee. I have something to discuss with all four of you."

Blake shut the door. "What is it, sir?"

Ozpin turned around and gave his quiet smile at the group. "There's no need to be so tense. I didn't bring you in here to scold you." He took a drink of his ever present coffee. "This is about the files that were taken."

"The files on everyone in school?" Yang asked.

Ozpin shook his head. "I was not entirely honest with you that day."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. She had guessed, but she was still curious why he had done that.

The look he gave her showed her that he knew that she knew he hadn't been honest. And that this was a lot more serious than she had originally thought. "The thief only took two files. Blake Belladonna, and Ruby Rose. Later, he then came back for Ms Schnees' and Ms. Xiao Long's."

The girls all started. "Is it that guy from the port?" Blake asked quickly, balling up her fists.

"I fear so." He took another drink. "Roman Torchwick is a highly dangerous criminal. If it is him, all four of you are in danger."

"I get Weiss, Ruby, and Blake being in danger." Yang said. "Why me?"

Ozpin took out a file and handed it to her. "A few months ago you barged into a club and…had an altercation with the owner, Junior. Am I correct?"

Blake and Weiss looked shocked. "WHAT?"

Yang smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I did. So?"

"It appears that Junior put a bounty on your head for destroying his…establishment."

Yang looked thoughtful. "Oh."

"Then Sun and Penny are in trouble!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Don't worry; Penny is safe. And I am having Mr. Wukong brought to Beacon for his safety as we speak." Ozpin did something unexpected then. He put down his coffee mug. He gave a little cough and spoke a little louder. "You four may come in." The door opened and team JNPR fell into the room. "I think it'll be easier to hear without the door in the way." Ozpin smiled.

Jaune bolted upright. "I'm sorry sir, it's just-"

Ozpin stopped him. "Now is not the time. I have become aware that team JNPR and team RWBY are close. You are in every class together, eat together, and have rooms across the hall."

"Yessir."

"I am putting you in charge of protecting team RWBY if the need arises. Can you do that for me?"

Blake spoke up. "I don't think we don't need protection, sir."

"That's why it's my decision. Mr. Arc?"

Jaune looked to each of his teammates, who each gave a nod, before returning his gaze to Ozpin. "We'll do it, sir."

"Good. I want at least one of you to be with team RWBY at all times, is that understood?"

"Yessir."

Ozpin picked his coffee back up. "You may all leave."


	5. Chapter 5

"So how are we going to do this?" Yang asked when both groups convened in JNPRs room.

"Do what?" Jaune asked, looking thoroughly confused. Pyrrha handed everyone a cup of coffee.

"We need to find a way to protect team RWBY 24 hours a day." Pyrrha clarified. "We cannot have this Torchwick fellow taking our friends."

"We can take him!" Nora exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "He won't have a chance!"

"What about while we're sleeping?" Weiss said. "What do we do then?"

"We can set up watches." Ren said. "that way if Torchwick does come in the middle of the night, the person on watch can set off an alarm. Then he'll be outnumbered."

"We had him outnumbered before." Blake said, a hint of anger in her voice. "But he still almost killed Sun and me. If it wasn't for Ruby and Penny…"

"Mostly Penny." Ruby admitted. "I wasn't much help. Blake's right; Torchwick is better than any of us. But if we work together, then he'll lose."

Jaune looked thoughtful. "Watches are good, but wouldn't it be easier if we split team RWBY so that way they aren't all together? And also two of us could watch over them."

"I think that's a great idea." Pyrrha agreed. "So we should split into mini teams."

"How should we spilt?" Blake asked.

Ruby and Jaune looked thoughtful. "Well…" They both said. There was a pause as they both looked at each other before they began to laugh.

Blake had a small smile on her lips. "I think that partnership is decided."

"What partnership?" the eight hunters turned to see the familiar face of Sun Wukong.

"Sun!" Ruby and Blake jumped to their feet.

Sun smiled. "Hey everyone. How are you?"

"We're good. How about you!" Yang looked pleased to see the faunus.

"Been better. What's all this about the Psycho from the port?"

"We think he is after team RWBY." Pyrrha said.

Sun sat down next to Blake and nonchalantly took her hand. "We all did screw up his plans. So, what's our plan?"

"We're going to form teams to protect you and RWBY." Ren said."Jaune and Ruby…"

"Whoa!" Jaune said. "When did that happen?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Since you two became best friends. So Jaune and Ruby, me and Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha nodded. "That sounds grand!"

"Ok…" Jaune paused. "Nora and Yang?"

Yang and Nora nodded. "I can deal with that." Yang said.

"That leaves Ren , Sun and Blake!" Nora said enthusiastically.

Ren and Blake looked at each other and nodded. "That sounds good." Blake said.

Ren looked down at his watch. "We have class in ten minutes." He informed them.

The group stood up and left, not ever seeing the camera left outside the window, watching their every move.


	6. Chapter 6

Roman searched Beacon plans for what seemed like the 12th time.

He wanted to find a way into the school that Ozpin would not see coming. One of Torchwicks men told him that the Headmaster had placed RWBY under the protection of another group. JNPR. He looked at the footage of the Two teams hanging out in a room and sighed.

Two of Team JNPR looked tough; that red head who guarded Ms. Schnee and the Asian boy who guarded Blake. The other two he didn't think would be much of a problem: the orange hair girl (who strangely reminded him from the girl from the port) that was taking care of Yang looked too hyper to focus on protecting Ms. Xiao Long, and the Blonde boy looked weak.

He had, of course, seen them all before on the initiation video. They had fought beside RWBY against a Death Stalker and the blonde had come up with the plan to kill it. He was a strategist, so he was most likely the leader of JNPR. The rest were experts in their field of weaponry, so it would be best to attack where they would not have those weapons. During class would be the obvious choice.

Which led Roman back to looking at Beacons plans.

While he would love to take them all at once, the best plan of action would be to grab them separately. However, that would only have the security increased on the rest of the team.

He gritted his teeth. Why was this so difficult?

He looked around his base for something, ANYTHING, that would help him get Ruby and the others.

For some reason, he didn't want Ruby spending more time than necessary with that blonde.

Roman heard footsteps behind him. "Having trouble, Roman?"

He didn't need to turn around to know who that silky voice belonged to. "Crimson. What a pleasure."

She laughed. "Cut the formalities. What are you so busy with?" She walked closer and looked over his shoulder. "Beacon? What do you need at Beacon?"

"This is a private matter; it has nothing to do with you or your plans."

Crimson chuckled. "Everything you do involves me and my plans." She reached over and picked up a photo of Ruby. Romans' muscles tightened as he saw Crimsons' eyes evaluate the girl. "What a cute girl! She was with Goodwitch, wasn't she?"

"Perhaps." He noticed how tense he had become. What the hell?

Crimson looked at him, a curious look in her bright eyes. "I think you're hiding something, Roman."

Roman gripped his cane tightly, prepared for Crimson to order him to tell him what was going on, or to even kill Ruby. He was confused at that: he wanted to kill Ruby, didn't he?

What she did surprised him. She smiled. "I guess you are a man, after all." She put the photo down and began to walk away. "As long as this doesn't affect my plans, do what you will."

He glared at her retreating form. "'I guess you are a man'" He called. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Crimson paused. "Figure it out for yourself." She called.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update: I'm a college student and I've had too much going on!**

Team RWBY was cooped up in their room with JNPR, very bored.

Yang was lying on her bed, while Blake read a new book Ren had picked up for her and Sun read over her shoulder. Nora and Ren sat in a corner, just talking to each other (Nora mostly took up the conversation).

Weiss was showing Pyrrha her sword, explaining to her how the dust was activated and used. Finally, Yang spoke up. "Where ARE Ruby and Jaune? I haven't seen them since class."

Nora looked up. "Jaune wanted to practice in the gym and Ruby went with. She said she didn't want to be cooped up all day long."

Yang looked up, stunned. "She went to the gym? She said she was going to the Library."

Ren stood up. "We should check on her, just in case." In a second, Yang was on her feet and putting on her bracers.

"She probably did go with Jaune," Weiss said. "But…I suppose you're right."

Blake looked towards Weiss, a worried look on her face. "Admit it; you're just as worried as the rest of us." She tossed the book down and headed towards the door. "I'm going."

The group raced down the halls, fear in their hearts.

Ruby stood in the weapons section of the Library, happy to finally have some alone time. She knew that she shouldn't have ditched the gang by lying that she was following Jaune to the gym, but she had just wanted to get away. Ruby really didn't like having to spend every minute with a 'bodyguard', even if it was her best friend.

She sighed, feeling more than a little guilty. "Guess I'll go check out these books and go back to apologize."

"You won't need to apologize. "Ruby turned at the unknown voice, her skirt ruffling a bit. She saw a young man who looked to be a couple of years older than Yang. He had bright red hair, dark clothes and, more interestingly, had a mask on. It made him look sinister. "Ruby Rose."

"U-um. Who are you?" Ruby asked, a little nervous. She reached for crescent rose, but realized she had left it in the room.

The masked man grinned. "I'm Adam. I believe you know my old partner, Blake?"

His old partner? This was Blake's old partner. He was a member of the White Fang. Which meant…

"You work for Torchwick." It wasn't a question.

Adam frowned. "I don't _work_ for that human. I just need his partnership."

"Then why are you here?" Ruby asked. She wanted to buy time. She was sure that her friends would discover her lie and come looking for her.

"Don't be an idiot. And don't try to buy time. You're coming with me." He began to walk towards her, while drawing a sword.

Ruby began to back up. "I don't think so."

Adams grin was back. "I don't think you understand, Ruby. That wasn't a request."

Options ran through Ruby's head. She had to try to keep out of his grasp until her friends arrived, but how? If she battled in the Library, bystanders were likely to get involved. Her eyes flicked around her, scanning the area until they landed on a large window.

This was going to suck.

She took a deep breath before using Scatter. As the window broke, she could feel pieces of glass scrape her face and become embedded in her hair and clothes. Behind her, Adam cursed and ran toward the window.

She landed on the ground wrong and hissed in pain. But she couldn't stop; she just got up and began to run on her hurt ankle. She had landed on the east side of the Library, the one that faced the forest. She sprinted into the forest, ignoring the pain.

When RWBY and JNPR ran into the Library, there were teachers milling around a broken window.

Weiss ran up. "What's going on?"

Professor Port turned towards her. "It seems that a student jumped out the window." He looked directly at Yang. "I believe it was your sister."

"Why weren't you with her?" The group turned around to see Ozpin striding towards them. He looked more angry then they had ever seen him. "Why weren't you with Ruby?"

Yang went up to him; it was obvious she was trying to remain calm. "What happened to my sister?!" Her voice shook.

Ozpin looked away from Yang to the broken window. "She was attacked here. I don't know who, yet; Ms. Goodwich is looking at the footage. I guess she figured her best means of escape was through the window."

"Then let's go looking for her!" Blake said loudly. "They can't be far! How long ago did this happen?"

Ozpin looked back at the group. "This happened over twenty minutes ago."


	8. Chapter 8

Yang almost fell down on her knees. "Twenty… Minutes?"

Ren closed his eyes. "We may be too late."

Nora shook her head. "No!"

Sun turned around and began to leave the Library with Blake. "We won't get anywhere by standing around."

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked.

Blake answered. "To get Jaune. We need his help if we're going to get Ruby."

Yang gritted her teeth. "Then let's hurry."

Ruby groaned. Her head hurt so bad and so did her ankle. She realized that she was lying face down on the ground. And it felt like the ground was _moving._

What?

Then she remembered.

She had been running from…oh what was his name? Adam. She had been running from Adam, who had attacked her in the Library. After she had jumped out of the window and hurt her ankle, Ruby had run into the woods to evade capture.

And then…

There had been a plane waiting. A Plane waiting for Adam. Who was supposed to kidnap her…

She jolted awake. She had been _kidnapped._ She moved her arms, only to find them bound fast. Damn it!

"You're awake."

Ruby cast her eyes towards the voice. "Adam." Her voice was filled with anger.

Adam was sitting on some boxes that were securely tied down. She couldn't see his eyes, but she had a feeling he was looking at her. "Didn't think you were going to wake up until we reached base." She looked away. "Are you ...ignoring me? Pfft!"

She glanced back to see him laughing. "What?" She asked, angry.

"It's just so childish. I just didn't see the great Ruby Rose doing such a thing."

Ruby perked. "Great Ruby Rose?"

He looked away. "Forget it."

"No, I wanna know. What do you mean by the "great Ruby Rose"?"

"You prevented a crime at the "From Dust till Dawn"?"

Ruby nodded, well, as much as she could being tied on the ground.

"You're the youngest to ever get into that Hunter School-Beacon- Right?"

"Yeah"

"You also happen to be the leader of your team at Beacon?"

"Right."

"A team which includes MY old partner, who is a great fighter."

"Blake? Yeah, she's really good." Ruby agreed.

Adam looked at her squarely. "And you aren't arrogant about this at all?"

"Arrogant about what?"

"Having all of this at age, what, 16?"

"I'm 15."

"Exactly!" Adam looked away again. "You are just so…" He stopped.

Ruby wanted to know. "What? I'm so what?"

"Innocent." Adam stood up. "And I'm almost sorry you had to be dragged into this."


	9. Chapter 9

Ch 9

**Yay! I have finished my summer paper for my study abroad and sent it in, so now I have more time to write! Hope you all enjoy the chapter, and I do love feedback and (helpful) criticism. ^_-**

Yang put on Ember Celica, quieter than she had ever been in her entire life. The "adults" had told them to leave everything to the Hunters and the Police, so naturally they were preparing to go themselves. Jaune and his team were preparing in their room for the rescue, so team RWBY was alone. Alone without their leader.

Weiss timidly approached the blonde and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Yang, we're going to find her."

Yang continued to place her ammunition in the bracers. "Every minute we waste here, Ruby gets farther away. They aren't taking my sister from me."

Blake holstered Gambol Shroud, and checked that her bow was in place. "We need to hurry, then. It's been almost an hour and these guys mean business. Adam… isn't nice."

"I figured as much." Yang snapped at her partner, before flinching. "Blake, I'm-"

"You're worried." Blake stated. "I understand, just calm down."

"Ruby would want us to remain calm" Sun said.

Yang laughed, the sound a little harsh. "If it was any of us, you _know_ she'd be already out there looking."

Blake nodded. "That's why we're taking every precaution to be ready, because we're getting her back." The Faunus looked serious. Well, more serious than normal. Her amber eyes flashed and her team could see her aura gently flowing around her, perfectly in control.

Yang's was different. Her white-hot aura fluxed with worry and concern, but those same emotions also made her stronger. Her hair was already taking on the platinum glow of her semblance.

They continued to prepare in silence, Weiss taking the time to pack bags for each member, unsure of how long it would take them to find their fearless Ruby Rose. Yang looked over quickly to see the white-haired girl had packed Crescent Rose. The weapon looked lonely without its wielder, but the small gesture made Yang strangely happy. It meant that Weiss believed Ruby would one day fight alongside them again. That they would once again be RWBY.

There was a small knock on the door and Jaune poked his blonde head in. "You girls ready?"

Yang, Blake, and Weiss shouldered their packs. "Ready." Blake announced.

Glinda Goodwitch entered Ozpins office. "You were right." She said. "They've gone."

Ozpin sighed over his coffee. "I figured they would. Those girls… I assume JNPR is with them?"

"And Sun Wukong."

Ozpin nodded. "Good, they'll need their friends with them."

The beautiful Huntress tilted her head to the side. "You… aren't going to stop them?"

He rose and crossed the room to the window and peered over the academy. "We cannot stop them, Glinda. We can only hope they're ready for what lays ahead." He turned back to face his longtime friend. "And we must go too. They may need a little assistance from us."

Glinda smiled knowingly. "I have everything ready."

Ozpin grinned. "You know me so well. Let's go."


	10. Author note: posting pending note!

My dear beloved readers,

I posted in the comments, but not sure you'd all see so I'm borrowing a friends computer to get my message to you:

A few weeks ago, my precious laptop died.

I was able to back it up before it completely broke, but I have no way of getting my chapters up for the moment. It IS getting repaired and I should have it back within the next two weeks! When that happens, I will IMMEDIATELY post a chapter that is on my hard drive.

I'm really sorry I wasn't able to post to you guys sooner, you are all the best readers on the entire site!

Sincerely,

Torafire


	11. Chapter 10

**Enter exhausted College student: Guy's I am so sorry it's taken me over 3 months (I think?) to publish. Turns out they couldn't fix my laptop and I had to get a new one then had trouble with the external hard drive. BUT! I got it done today so I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, I'm aware that my storyline is waaay veering off, so it appears my characters(and story) are going to be out of Character.**

**When I first started this story, Cinder's name hadn't come out yet, nor had Mercury and Emerald appeared. But for the sake of my story, I will be adding them :) also We're going to assume that everyone knows Penny is a robot and that Junior is still a jerk for my story, hope that's alright with everyone!**

**I love you all!**

**Torafire**

Roman was looking through some papers when Mercury and Emerald walked into his "Office". Well, he was _pretending _to look through some papers. In reality, he couldn't get his mind off of a certain dark-haired Huntress-in-training.

Mercury made himself at home by sitting on the desk. "Whatcha doing, old man?"

"I am only three years older than you; don't call me "old man"." He said, straining to keep his temper. These two rubbed him the wrong way, and Cinder always seemed to have him _babysitting_ them.

Mercury scoffed. "Whatever. What _are _you doing?"

Roman looked down. What was he doing again? "I'm, uh, looking at dust prices." He said, glancing at the document in front of him. "With our 'operation', they've gone through the roof."

Emerald smirked. "Riiight. Like you totally weren't zoning out." He glared at the girl. She was older than Ruby but she held none of the beauty that Ruby ha- wait. What was he _thinking_?

She leaned in close. "Girl problems?" She asked knowingly.

Roman blinked. "Girl problems? Are you hearing yourself?"

Mercury laughed. "Yeah, Emerald, like Torchwick here would ever have a _girlfriend_."

"I don't see why he shouldn't have a little fun." The three looked towards the door to see the Faunus Adam resting on the frame. He grinned at Roman. "For instance, that girl from Beacon you had me snatch. She's pretty cute. For a Human, that is."

Roman had to stop himself from bolting out of his chair; instead he rose carefully, making sure not to look too eager. "What girl?" Mercury asked, looking beyond confused. Emerald looked just as confused as he.

"So you got her, then?" Tochwick asked, taking a cigar from a hidden pocket in his jacket. His hands were slightly trembling; from excitement or nervousness, he couldn't tell. But why would he be nervous?

Adam nodded slightly. "Yeah. She wasn't as easy to snatch as I had thought, though."

"WHO are we talking about?" Emerald finally asked. She stood with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed a bit.

Roman smirked. "Oh, just a _Girl Problem_." He said sarcastically.

20 minutes earlier

When they arrived at the base, Adam picked up Ruby by the back of her collar and dragged her into the building. Ruby could feel glass in her clothes start to cut her skin, but she wasn't going to complain. She was more preoccupied in trying to remember her surroundings in case she had the opportunity to escape. It looked like a warehouse, maybe outside of a major city. She had been unconscious, so she didn't know how far they were from Beacon.

Adam took her into a small room with a table and a chair on either side. He pushed her towards the chair facing the far wall. "Sit." He commanded.

Ruby remained standing and looked at Adam. "Why should I listen to you?" She asked, her brow furrowed.

Adam stepped close to her and looked down, their noses almost touching. "Because if you don't, I don't see why I shouldn't go straight back to Beacon and bring back your sister. Yang Xiao Long, right?"

Ruby's silver eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare."

"There are a lot of things I wouldn't dare to do, Ruby. Kidnapping your sister isn't on that list." Ruby could feel Adams glare through his mask. She could tell he wasn't joking. "Such pretty blonde hair: is it natural?"

Ruby took a step back and sat in the chair. "I'm glad we understand each other." Adam said, tying her wrists together behind the chair.

"When I get out of here," Ruby said, a touch of venom in her voice. "I'm going to get every Hunter and Huntress to hunt you down."

Adam tied her ankles to the chair legs, Ruby hissing in pain when he tied her left ankle. "You wouldn't be the first to say that. Probably not the last, either." He ruffled Ruby's black and red hair. "I'll be back shortly with Torchwick. Sit tight." He added, a grin on his face.

Now

Roman walked down the hall towards the room where Adam had put Ruby.

"Hey, Old Man! Wait up!"

Roman sighed in annoyance. "I told you, I'm THREE years older than you. I'm not 'old'." He didn't slow his pace as Mercury and Emerald caught up to him.

"Who is she?" Emerald asked, slightly out of breath.

Roman gripped Melodic Cudgel tighter. "A thorn in my side since _From Dust Till Dawn_."

"What's her name?" Mercury asked, a slight smile dancing upon his lips.

Torchwick glanced at the teen. "Her name is Ruby. Ruby Rose. She's a Huntress-in-training at Beacon."

"She hot?"

Roman stopped and gave Mercury a hard look. "_That_ is irrelevant. She's our enemy and will be eliminated." He began walking again.

"That a yes?" Mercury asked.

Roman gritted his teeth. "Don't you have something else to do?"

Mercury grinned. "Not really." They arrived at the holding cell. "This it?"

Roman glared at the grey-eyed male. "I'm going in _alone_. Do you understand?"

Mercury just smiled and Emerald rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She said. "I'm leaving."

The girl walked away, leaving Roman and Mercury standing before the cell. Mercury opened the door and gestured for Roman to go in. "After you."

Roman took a drag from his cigar and walked inside.

When he first walked in, Roman could only see dark hair and a red cape. _Ruby._

He walked to the opposite end of the room, not turning around to glance at her, but feeling the Teen's gaze on his white coat. When he did turn, he had to stop himself from widening his green eyes in surprise. Ruby was covered in glass fragments; it was in her hair and on her clothes and she had cuts on her face. She looked tired, but she still had on her 'fighting' face: eyes narrowed slightly and lips pulled into a small frown.

But, despite all that, she was still a thing of beauty. Maybe her fighting spirit made her more so. Torchwick shook his head slightly to rid those treacherous thoughts from his mind. "Red! So happy to see you. How've you been?" He asked mockingly.

Ruby's eyes widened in surprise and anger before she pulled it in. "Well, you know, just preparing for finals and all that." She spat.

He loved and _hated_ that voice. "Good to hear you're doing well in class. Education is important, you know." He replied, keeping up the civil charade for a moment before dropping it completely. "You're going to answer a few questions for me, Miss Rose. And that will help decide how I should deal with you from there."

Ruby refused to look away from his green gaze. She was not going to show weakness. Roman admired that about her. "Let me guess, you want to know about Beacon, right?"

Well, she wasn't wrong, but she also wasn't right. "And a few more minor things." He sat down in the chair opposite from Ruby. He saw Mercury saunter into the room and lounge against the wall adjacent to Ruby. Roman did not like the way Mercury was looking at HIS Ruby. HIS prey.

Ruby looked away from Roman to glance at the Teen. "I see you have some new henchmen." She noted. "Junior's men not good enough anymore?" She sent him a small grin and he was forced to remember that fateful night at the dust shop when Ruby had taken down about half a dozen thugs.

Before he could reply, Mercury spoke. "Actually, Hunny, Roman works for _my_ boss." He leaned in. "Ruby, was it? How old are you?"

Roman wanted to throw his cigar at the boy, or hey-maybe shoot him. He could see Ruby having similar thoughts as she instinctively moved her arms to grab the scythe that normally graced her back. "Mercury, I think you can save those remarks for a later time." Roman hissed.

Mercury held his hands up in a defensive position. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

Roman turned his eyes back to Ruby who looked like she couldn't decide to look nonchalant or angry. "As I was saying," He continued after a brief puff on his cigar. "I'm more interested in your little friends and Ozpin."

Ruby chose anger. "Like I would tell you anything about my friends."

"What about Ozpin?" Mercury asked snidely.

She gave him a glare. "He's my Headmaster and a good man. I wouldn't betray him either."

Roman sighed and began to stand. "Guess we'll have to go ask that Robot girl." He bluffed, doing his best to not look concerned.

Ruby's eyes widened. "You have Penny?!" She blurted out.

Roman smirked and let out a chuckle. "Well, I didn't. But now that I know her name, it's only a matter of time." Ruby looked heartbroken and upset. "Oh, don't feel bad, Red," He chided. "We all make mistakes."

He blew out a string of smoke. "But now, I think yours are going to end." Roman pointed the end of Melodic Cudgel right between Ruby's eyes.

Her silver eyes went as wide as he had ever seen them. He kept the barrel between those silver orbs and looked into them as they lost their shock and became strong. He wanted nothing more than to kill her right then and there. But Roman found himself lost in a sea of silver determination.

He fought between killing the pest and letting her live and found he couldn't decide. After a moment's hesitation, he lowered his weapon and stared at Ruby. She looked at him, confused, as he said, "I don't think you're worth killing right now, actually." He took a deep drag from his cigar and walked around her chair towards the door. "Later, Red."


	12. Chapter 11

When Torchwick left, Ruby blinked her eyes in shock.

He had almost killed her.

Her body began to shake involuntarily as she realized how close she had been to losing her dreams of being a great Huntress. Silent tears ran down Ruby's cheek and she let out a small sob. She had been kidnapped. She was alone.

But her friends were safe and she was alive. They would get her out of here.

Ruby had no idea of how to take whatever had just happened. Torchwick had come in and been the crook she knew he was. He tricked her into telling Penny's name and pointed his weapon/cane at her.

And he let her live.

"I don't think you're worth killing right now" is what he had said. Did that mean he was going to kill her later? She wasn't sure. And, when she really thought about it, he didn't look certain either.

And that other guy, 'Mercury' He was called, he confused her. Torchwick worked for his boss, so did that mean there was someone else behind the strings? And had he been _flirting_ with her? She had never been flirted with, it was always Weiss and Yang and, even on occasion, Blake. Never Ruby, so she wasn't really sure there.

Ruby sighed and used her shoulder to wipe off the tearstains, wincing when small piece of glass cut into her. The first step of her escape would have to be getting the glass off her and her ankle wrapped. And food, she realized when her stomach growled.

And they had just left, so she had no clue when that would be. She sighed again. "It's going to be a long night." She said to the empty room.

* * *

><p>A ways away, Yang was thinking the same thing.<p>

The group had stopped for the night in a hotel and everyone else was already asleep. She couldn't sleep. Her baby sister had been taken away from her and was god-knows-where. Ruby was in the hands of criminals who had tried to kill her, Blake, and Sun, and that was NOT a place she wanted her.

She got out of the bed she was sharing with Nora and went to get dressed in the bathroom. When she came out, she found herself looking into the blue eyes of Weiss. She almost shouted, but the heiress covered her mouth and held a finger to her pale lips.

"I'm coming with you," She whispered to Yang. Yang looked around to make sure everyone was asleep before dragging Weiss into the bathroom with her.

"You should stay here." Yang told her. "It's safer, and I'm going to be back by morning anyways. I just want to get some information out of a 'friend'." Weiss crossed her arms and that's when Yang noticed she was already dressed. "Have you been awake the entire time?"

"Yes, I have." The pale girl poked Yang in the sternum. "And if you think I'm going to sit around while your sister, my _partner_, is in danger, you are very much wrong." She placed her hands on her hips.

Yang sighed. "Fine, ok! But we need to be quiet." She said.

Weiss nodded. The two girls exited the bathroom, and after Yang placed a note by Blake's bed side telling her where she was going, crept out of the room before anyone could notice they were gone.

* * *

><p>Later that night (closer to morning) as Roman lay in his bed, he wondered why he hadn't been able to kill Ruby.<p>

He hated her. His mind flashed to her beautiful silver eyes as they stared at him.

Didn't he?

She was constantly in his way, blocking his path and thwarting his plans. In a way, she was a good Huntress already, preventing 'evil' and promoting 'justice'.

He sat up, swung his feet off the edge off the bed and rubbed his temple. "Why is this so complicated?" He murmured. He had never had this problem before. He preferred to eliminate anyone in his way as soon as possible. This was a good example why.

Of course, there was still a possibility that she would talk. It would only take a few days of no food, isolation…

So why didn't he want to do that either?

Torture was the easiest way to get information, wasn't it?

He sighed and stood up, his red hair messy and bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He was shirtless, but had on loose black pants for sleep. He stretched and yawned, putting on a black shirt and his signature white jacket.

He was going to go see Ruby. Maybe mock her about getting caught, or tell her everything he knew about her friends. THAT would get a reaction out of her, for sure.

He walked down the cold halls of the warehouse that Cinder had him using, wondering why he was actually going to see Red and what he was going to do when he got there. He opened the door and walked in. He reached the other side of the table and turned around again, determined that he wouldn't be surprised again.

He sucked in his breath.

Ruby was sleeping, her eyes shut in what looked like a troubled sleep. She must be exhausted, he thought, gazing at her tense form lying limp in the chair.

Roman approached her quietly, not wanting to wake her for some reason unknown to him. She was breathing gently, her chest rising softly. He examined her hair, seeing shards of glass in it. He gently brushed some out, picking out the larger pieces. He knew it wasn't much, but for some reason he hoped it would make her a little more comfortable.

She shivered a bit and he noticed it was cold in the room. Without thinking, he took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She gave a little sigh and a slight smile crossed her lips.

Roman blinked at the new feelings that he was experiencing looking at Ruby Rose. He shook his head and left as quickly as possible.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: How could you leave Blake!?<strong>

**Yang: I left a note! I'll be back soon, geeze.**

**Me: Fine, but you know she's going to be pissed when she wakes up.**

**Yang and Weiss: O.o**


	13. Tribute

My dearest readers,

As you can see this isn't a chapter, but I am trying to write one so I can get it to you guys. You guys are so patient and I appreciate that.

This is just a tribute to a wonderful man who has passed from this world. Monty Oum, creator of RWBY, died yesterday at age 33. He was hospitalized a few days ago and apparently experienced an allergic reaction. He went into a coma and passed away. I would just like to take a few moments for us all to remember how amazing he was and how he inspired us to "fight for what was right, to protect those who couldn't protect themselves". I have never been so inspired from a show the way RWBY has inspired me.

Monty, you will be sorely missed and never forgotten, especially by this writer.

_Red Like Roses fills my head with dreams and finds me always closer to the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you…_

-Torafire


	14. Chapter 12

**Hi everyone! I know, I know: I suck at updating. And you don't need to hear my complaints, but with school out, I thought I'd have more time to write, but now I'm working full-time for college costs D:**

**It isn't much (really at all), but here's a small chapter to (hopefully) tide you over till I am able to write more!**

Junior was having a pretty good night. There were lots of patrons in the club, and there had been no complaints about prices or troublesome behavior. He leaned back in a lounge chair and took a drink of his scotch. Melanie and Miltia sat beside him, watching patrons with cold eyes.

One of Junior's men ran up, completely out of breath. "Sir! We have a problem!"

Junior looked up, a little peeved at being interrupted. "What is it?" He asked, allowing annoyance to creep into his voice. He could see the men guarding the front door of the club attempting to force it shut.

"She's ba-."

The door exploded and his men went flying. Patrons screamed and scattered as a girl with long, curly blonde hair walked into the club, hands curled into fists and her gauntlets at the ready. Junior and the girls stood, shocked to see the same girl who had destroyed the club months ago reappear.

The girl waited until the patrons had cleared out, standing at the top of the stairs in a ready stance. Soon, it was just the four of them in a stare down.

Junior was the first to break the silence. "Blondie, you're back." He said, picking up his bazooka.

Blondie just continued to stare at him for a moment before speaking. "Where can I find Roman Torchwick?" She asked, her voice calm and low. Junior noticed her eyes were a bright red.

He was slightly taken aback by her question. "How the hell would I know?" He said. He gave the girls a nod and they automatically sprang into action, running towards Blondie. Melanie was the first to reach her and kicked at her face. Blondie quickly blocked with her gauntlets and returned with a kick of her own, only to be stopped when Miltia swiped at Blondie with her claws.

Blondie took a quick step back. When Miltia clawed at her, Blondie ducked and punched the girl in the gut, her gauntlets helping her enhance the speed of her punch. Miltia staggered backwards while Melanie kicked upwards. The blonde flipped back a few times before landing in a kneeling position. Just as Melanie was about to attack again, there was a flash of white and the black-haired girl's feet were frozen to the floor.

A White haired girl Junior had never seen before now stood beside Blondie. "I told you I could handle it, Weiss."

"Hey, a 'thank you' wouldn't kill you, Yang." Weiss shot back. "Anyways, you're taking too long. I don't want the others to wake up before we get back."

Yang sighed. "Yeah, still not looking forward to that."

Junior was perplexed at the strange conversation the two girls were having, though he decided it didn't matter. He fired a missile at them.

Yang, noticing the attack, shot her own missile. As the two collided, she ran forward past Melanie toward the Bar owner, Weiss following suit. He quickly turned the bazooka into a bat, but he was too slow for the Beacon students. Weiss used her semblance to bounce Yang off the air and Yang kicked Junior straight in the face.

He fell to the ground, nose bleeding. When he tried to get back up, Yang firmly placed her boot on the mans sternum. "I think it's time we have a little chat." The blonde said, eyes glinting.


	15. Chapter 13

When Ruby opened her eyes the next morning, she saw a pair of beautiful red eyes. Ruby blinked a few times at the close proximity of the face before being able to clearly see the person. She was a girl around Yang's age with dark skin and pale green hair. Overall, Ruby thought she was very pretty.

"U-um…hi?"Ruby said, after a moment of the girl just looking at her.

The girl blinked and moved back to look at Ruby. "Sorry, I just had to see who everyone was worked up about."

Ruby took a better look at the girl. Her outfit seemed far more appropriate for warmer temperature than Vale was this time of year but she totally pulled it off. "What's your name?" She asked automatically, her friendly/curious personality bubbling to the surface.

The girl put her hands on her hips. "I'm Emerald. You're Ruby, right?"

The black-haired girl nodded. "Yep, that's me."

"You're the girl that Roman's been having problems with."

Ruby felt a strange sense of déjà vu at this conversation. "uh…I guess so? Though to be honest, that first time I was just browsing the store when-"

"And you're the leader of a team at Beacon?"

_Now_ Ruby knew where she had heard this before; Adam had asked similar questions. "Why is everyone so surprised at that?" She asked curiously.

Emerald shrugged. "I dunno, just seems a little strange to me because you don't look so tough. But maybe that's how Beacon works."

"Hey, I'm plenty tough!" Ruby said indignantly.

The older girl looked surprised at her outburst and then started to laugh. "I guess you are, to be able to not be scared right now!"

"Well…I am. It would be stupid to not be. But acting scared isn't going to help me. My father once told me that 'if you let your fear control you, it only prevents you from acting as you must'."

"He sounds like a smart man." Emerald said, a slight smile on her face.

"He's a great Hunter. Also, I don't need to fear because I know my team's coming for me."

"Well, that's good to hear, Red."

Both girls turned to see Torchwick walk in with a tray of food. When Ruby saw it, her stomach let out an unlady-like growl.

He chuckled and Ruby could feel heat rising to her cheeks. "Don't worry, I don't plan on starving you, Miss Rose." He motioned for a Faunus to follow him into the room with a small table and an extra chair. After he placed the tray on the table, he made sure that Ruby's feet were secured to the chair. When he touched her left ankle, she took in a sharp breath and Torchwick glanced up for a moment and back to her leg before standing and releasing her arms. She tentatively rotated her wrists to get the blood flowing properly again as Torchwick sat down across from her. "Eat." He said to Ruby before turning to Emerald. "You need something?"

Emerald raised an eyebrow. "No, I think I'm good here. Later, Ruby." She said as she turned and walked out of the room.

"Bye, Emerald."

When the green-haired girl left, Ruby looked suspiciously at the food on the table. The plate was heaped with eggs, toast, and ham and it all looked delicious, but, after everything, she wasn't convinced that it wasn't poisoned.

The criminal must have seen her hesitation because he said, "Red, if I wanted you dead, I would have killed you last night."

She looked back at him with a slight glare, but still made no move to eat. After a moment, Torchwick let out an exasperated sigh and reached across the table to grab the fork. He scooped up some of the egg and made a show of eating it. Then he put the fork back down and gestured at himself. "See, still alive. Have a little faith, Red."

She tentatively picked up the fork and took a bite of ham. As the flavor filled her mouth, her hunger hit her in full force. She quickly began to stuff her face, momentarily forgetting who was in the room with her.

When Ruby began to slow down, she looked up to see the orange-haired man observing her with unreadable eyes. She furrowed her brow and straightened her posture. The way he was looking at her was making her kinda uncomfortable. She took a quick drink of water and began to cough.

Torchwick raised an eyebrow at her and she hoarsely said, "Went down the wrong pipe."

He let out a small chuckle and pulled out a cigar. As he lit it, Ruby crinkled her small nose. "What, can't I appreciate the finer things in life?" He asked, breathing out a cloud of smoke.

Ruby stayed silent for a moment before asking the question most on her mind. "Why am I here?"

Torchwick let out a dramatic sigh. "Why are any of us here, Red? Isn't that the greatest question of our short exista-"

"You know what I mean!" She said, slamming her fork down on the table. Torchwick seemed surprised at this uncharacteristic display of rage. She attempted to stand, but was quickly stopped by her bonds. "Why did you have me kidnapped? Why are you after my team? What did we ever do to YOU?"

Suddenly, all of Torchwick's surprise went away and his green eyes narrowed dangerously. "Gee, Red, why don't you think about it?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Think about it really, _really _ hard." Ruby's eyes widened as he stood up. "You and your _team _have gotten in my way far too much. You even more so."

Ruby did her best to calm the fear that was making her stomach turn. "We've only done our jobs as Huntresses."

"Kudos to you. And I'm only doing MY job as a criminal by kidnapping you."

"My friends will come for me." She declared boldly.

Torchwick grinned. "Oh, I'm counting on it, Red."

Elsewhere

As soon as Yang opened the door to the hotel room, she was immediately assaulted with a fluffy white pillow. When she batted it away, she could see her partner glaring at her sharper than her Gambol Shroud. Behind Blake, she could see Sun hiding behind the bed with team JNPR. Clearly Blake had been on an anger rampage.

"Where have you two been?!" Blake yelled, standing. "We wake up and you guys are GONE without any note of where you were and when you'd be back!"

"Blake, I'm sorry! We jus-"

"Do you have ANY idea what you put me through?! US through?!"

Weiss tried to step in, "We thought we'd be back befo-"

"Don't you get it? I don't CARE what you thought!" Her angry glare turned from Yang to the pale heiress. "I woke up with the REST of my TEAM _gone!_ I didn't know what to think!" Suddenly, Yang and Weiss understood why she was so upset: her leader had been taken by the person she considered her worst enemy and the next day she woke up to find the remaining members missing.

This time, it was Jaune whom got the courage to speak up. "Blake, they're back now, ok? They're safe."

Blake whirled on him. "I don't care. That doesn't excuse what they did!"

Jaune flinched but didn't run to hide. "I know, and I agree with you. But let's hear what they have to say."

Blake crossed her arms and turned back to look at her teammates, motioning for them to talk. Yang took a breath and began. "I went to go see a guy on the shady side of town by the name of Hei Xiong, but everyone knows him as Junior. He runs a nightclub and knows most things happening in town."

"Is this the man whose nightclub you destroyed?" Pyrrha asked.

Yang nodded. "That's the one. Anyways, while I was sneaking out, Weiss caught me and decided to tag along."

Nora hopped up from her hiding place behind the bed. "He have any information on where Ruby is?"

Weiss paused for a moment. "No…and yes. He doesn't know anything about Ruby or where Torchwick is at the moment. But he told us a few places where they could be. Unfortunately, it's outside of the kingdoms."

"Which means…" Jaune began.

"We'll need to find someone who can take us out of the kingdom." Pyrrha finished. "Someone with a plane."

As they all stood around wondering whom they could turn to, Jaune's scroll began to beep. He looked down at the device in confusion, then his eyes widened. "Uh, guys? You are not going to believe who just offered us a ride."


	16. Chapter 14

**I noticed that someone said that I had mistakenly called Yang a Faunus, more than likely in chapter 3. However, I noticed that I said "She was very pretty...despite being a Faunus" while referring to Blake's profile. Yang's name WAS mentioned, but as it wasn't her profile, I didn't believe I had to clarify who was the Faunus. Also, I did originally call Cinder 'Crimson', but I did fix that later on, as I believe I put in an author's note. If I am mistaken, please let me know in which chapters I made the mistakes! I appreciate it!**

Roman continued his stare off with Ruby. She glared up at him with her silver eyes. "What do you mean, 'I'm counting on it'?" She demanded. Her fists were clenched and she looked as though she wanted nothing more than to hit him.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you think, Red? Did you think I'd just stop with you? Or maybe you, Penny, Sun, and Blake?" her eyes flickered slightly and he could tell that was _exactly_ what she had thought. "Oh no, I plan to make sure your team _never_ gets in my way again. All six of you have to go in order for me to feel safe again." He said mockingly. "And Hey! Maybe I'll throw that other team in for good measure. Team PLNT or something? Oh wait, it was team JNPR. Don't know how I could've forgotten. That Jaune fellow seems like a nice guy."

Ruby's eyes widened again, but this time in absolute fury. "Don't you dare touch ANY of my friends, you jerk! If you do, I swear I'll-"

"Seriously? What do you think you'll be able to do to me, Red? Especially on _that_ ankle." He sighed. Her will to protect her friends was admirable, but he couldn't help but feel that maybe she thought she was tougher than she was. Cute, but not exactly the brightest crayon in the box.

"There's nothing wrong with my ankle!" She insisted. "It's fine, never been better!"

He couldn't help but smirk. Then he gently tapped her left ankle with his cane. When she grimaced, he gave her a look that said 'really?' "Never been better, you say? That's odd, I don't remember you being in that much pain before now…" Ruby looked away and he turned to walk out the door. "Wait here, I'll be back. Please don't do anything stupid, like try to walk."

As soon as Torchwick left the room, Ruby did exactly that. As her hands were still free, she first tried to untie the ropes, but it soon proved to be useless. However, she found that she could almost stand straight, even though she was still tied to the chair. But as soon as her ankle took on weight, it practically blinded her with pain. She took only a few awkward steps before she fell to the floor, chair collapsing on top of her.

Ruby gritted her teeth in frustration. She was still trapped, but now she was lying on the floor with the chair's seat crushing her legs and her ankle hurt even more. She clenched her fists and wanted to hit something really badly. How _dare _Torchwick threaten her team, her friends! What had they done other than stop his crimes? It's not like they had caught him either, so he couldn't say that they put him in prison or anything. Though they had put a lot of his men in jail, but still!

"I could've sworn that I told you to not do anything stupid." She awkwardly looked up to see Torchwick standing in the doorway, grinning down at her.

She couldn't let him see how upset she was. "Seemed like a good idea at the time." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Riiiiight." Torchwick knelt down. Ruby started to back away, but stopped at the look he gave her. "Trying to help you here, Red. So stay still." She did as he said and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. Being this close to her enemy made her feel uncomfortable and her heart beat rapidly. As he went to pick up her up, she leaned into him to grab his jacket slightly, and could smell cigar smoke on his jacket. She could also vaguely smell something very familiar, like the detergent she used on her clothes.

He held her up and positioned the chair upright. When he went to set her down, she could've sworn he lingered. He stood back and looked at her, something flickering in his green eyes. Then it was gone and his eyes retook their arrogant look. "That's more like it. Hands behind your back."

She hesitated and he sighed. "Miss Rose, unless you want that ankle to remain in constant pain, do as I say." She frowned, but decided to humor him for the time being. After she put her hands behind her back, he tied them once again.

Torchwick turned around and walked to the door, looking into the hallway. "You can come in now." He said to whomever was outside.

Slowly, a very nervous looking older person came in with a doctor's bag. A nervous looking Faunus actually. With really nice white rabbit ears and glasses. He anxiously adjusted his glasses as he looked at Ruby. "Is this the girl with a broken ankle?"

Torchwick nodded. "Yep. Do me a favor and check it out, okay, Doc?" He knelt down again and this time untied her left ankle.

The doctor knelt down. "Would you mind sticking out your leg, miss?"

Ruby did as she was told and the doctor removed her shoe and touched her ankle very gently. She sucked in her breath but didn't move her leg away as the Faunus continued to examine her ankle. After a moment, the doctor looked back at Torchwick. "Luckily, it doesn't appear to be broken, just very badly sprained." He reached into his bad and took out some wrap.

As he began to wrap her swollen ankle, Ruby finally had the courage to say something to him. "I really like your rabbit ears." She said. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Torchwick raise an eyebrow. The doctor ignored her so she continued. "They actually remind me of a girl I know at Beacon. Except hers are more of a light brown."

"Oh really?" The doctor finally said, sounding uninterested.

"Yeah, she's really quiet, but also really cool. We're even in a few classes together, though she's a year older than me and she's on one of the best teams at school.

"What's her name?"

"Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina." The doctor paused momentarily before continuing to wrap her ankle. "Do you…know her?" Ruby asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, I was their family physician for many years. I'm glad to hear that she's doing well."

Ruby smiled at him. "Yeah, she's doing great! Her team's awesome and they treat her really well."

The Faunus smiled back at her timidly and Torchwick tilted his head, as though curious at this interaction. The doctor soon finished and stood back up. As he turned to walk away, he paused and looked back. "It was a pleasure meeting you, miss-?"

"Rose. Ruby Rose. It was nice meeting you, too. I'll tell Velvet you say hi!"

The older gentleman frowned and quickly left the room while Torchwick let out a chuckle. "Don't know how you think you're going to do that from here."

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." She said confidently and he rolled his eyes.

**So, irony: I was hard time deciding whether or not to have Ruby's ankle be broken or badly sprained, and then my sister helped me by falling down the stairs and badly spraining her ankle. As I looked at her pretty much in excruciating pain, I decided that was bad enough.**


	17. Chapter 15

Roman POV

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Red said confidently and he rolled his eyes.

"Of course you do, Red. And do your 'tricks' include getting past all the men in this base?" When she paused, he pressed on sarcastically. "A base full of _bad guys_ who'd just _love _the chance to beat up or even kill a Huntress- a _human_ - like you with a broken ankle?"

"It's not broken, it's sprained." She said with a huff.

He rolled his eyes again. "How could I've forgotten? A Huntress with a _sprained_ ankle." He leaned in close to her and he could see her lean back fractionally, her silver eyes narrowing. "You think that makes it any easier for you to escape? Don't forget that I hold ALL the cards here, Sweetheart." He continued to look at her a moment, marveling at the fact that she could still look pretty when she was glaring up at him.

Though he had to admit, she had looked a lot more attractive when she was laughing with her friends. He remembered an image of Ruby making fun of a fat professor with that Jaune and felt a rather…_unpleasant_ sensation in the pit of his stomach. He righted himself and sighed. "Anyways, make yourself at home, Red, because you're not going anywhere. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm sure I have _something_ important to attend to." Striding out of the room, he had to resist the strong urge to glance back at the girl.

As he walked down the halls, he saw Emerald leaning against a corner, talking to Mercury. When she saw Roman, she stopped. "That Ruby girl seems sweet."

Roman almost rolled his eyes _again_ but stopped himself. It was becoming a bad habit. "Yes, she's adorable." He said with a snort.

Emerald paused before tentatively asking, "What are you planning on doing with her?" Her red eyes seemed fairly concerned for the younger girl.

Roman held her gaze. "I'm keeping her here as bait. When her team comes running, I'll dispose of them. Simple as that."

"Ruby, too?" She asked.

He involuntarily looked away while he thought about it. What was _wrong _with him?

A few days ago he wouldn't have paused before answering 'of course, are you stupid?'

But now…

"Of course he's gonna kill her, Emerald." Mercury interrupted. "This _is_ Torchwick we're talking about. Plus, the girl's hot, but not THAT hot."

_That _snapped Roman out of his daze and he stood up straight again, his cocky smirk back on his face. "Naturally, naturally." He said. "What else would I do? You can't seriously expect me to let her go."

Emerald looked like she wanted to say something more but didn't. "Whatever." She said with a shrug. "Guess it's none of my business." She turned and began to walk away, but then suddenly stopped. "But I hope you make a choice you can live with." She said, quietly. "Because there's no turning back time after someone is killed."

Torchwick blinked in surprise and found that he had absolutely no response to that. Not one single, snarky, sarcastic, or suave response.

….

"Where do you think we should start?" Yang asked the older man driving the plane.

Ozpin's frown deepened. "I'm not sure, it's very difficult to tell from such a long list. Are you sure that Junior didn't have any other clues?"

The call Jaune had received had been from Ozpin and Glinda, who offered their services to the two teams. Their own search had revealed that Ruby was likely being held outside of the kingdom, and they had guessed that team RWBY and JNPR would require their assistance and experience in their quest. They had met up back at Beacon in order to grab more supplies before heading out, and now they had just passed the wall.

Weiss shook her head. "No, he didn't have anything else. Said that he hasn't dealt with Torchwick for a while, ever since he borrowed some of his men."

"That doesn't give us much information." Jaune said with a scowl.

"That doesn't give us ANY information." Blake said.

"What did you find out?" Pyrrha asked the two professors.

"We looked at the tapes again." Goodwitch said, casting a glance towards Ozpin, who didn't even move an inch. "Torchwick himself did not kidnap Ruby. Rather, he sent someone else."

"Did he send one of his thugs?" Nora asked.

"The man he sent was not a common thug like many of the members of the White Fang." Ozpin said, his voice serious. "But a very skilled fighter. Miss Belladonna."

"Yes."

"What can you tell me about a Faunus with red and brown hair."

Blake's gold eyes widened and her mouth parted silently in shock. Yang immediately touched her friends shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Is that who took Ruby?" Jaune asked.

Glinda nodded. "Yes. He approached her in the library and attempted to grab her before she jumped out the window."

"Miss Belladonna." Ozpin repeated, his voice now sharp. "What do you know about this man?"

Blake finally found her voice, though it shook when she spoke. "His name is Adam Taurus. He's the leader of the White Fang." She paused, as though deliberating something. "He's dangerous, we have to get Ruby away from him." She said finally.

Yang gritted her teeth in frustration and hit the wall of the airship. Weiss looked over briefly before turning back to Blake. "But he won't hurt her if she's Torchwick's prisoner, right?"

Blake shook her head. "I don't think that he will. I mean, he's clearly working with Torchwick so I don't think he'll do anything to piss him off. Unless he's allowed to, that is."

"What about any other members of the White Fang?" Ren asked.

"They all pretty much listen to whatever Adam says. She should be fine as long as he orders them to stay away." Suddenly she frowned. "Of course, there are some who hold grudges against humans… and I wouldn't put it past them to disobey Adam."

"Then we have to hurry." Ozpin said, picking up speed.

Yang closed her eyes and prayed. "Ruby…" she whispered, "Please be safe."


End file.
